Too Long
by Analya-Shepard
Summary: This wasn't Kaidan's room. The first clue was the window that he could see the docking bay from. The second was the blue scalp that was obstructing the other half of the room. Kaidan/Liara one-shot fluff based mostly after the Citadel DLC.


_Author's Note: I came up with this idea at 4 in the morning, and I decided to have fun with it. This is mostly after the Citadel DLC. Enjoy!_

* * *

This wasn't Kaidan's room. The first clue was the window that he could see the docking bay from. The second was the blue scalp that was obstructing the other half of the room. At least the bed was comfortable, and the room was still dark, because he could feel a migraine coming on quickly. The only problem was figuring out if he would stay in the room or try to make his way back to his own bed without disturbing Liara.

He couldn't remember much about last night after the friendly contest between himself and Vega. After closing his eyes to think on it more, he was sure that he'd started this whole chain of events, remembering that he'd found her at the bar in the apartment alone. Kaidan looked down when Liara moved, expecting her to wake up so soon, but she just curled up more. She looked relaxed, for once, and that made him smile. After he remembered seeing two empty bottles meant for the guests, Kaidan could recall helping her down some stairs, and picking her up when she collapsed onto him. Had he carried her here? She might remember, but part of him hoped that this wouldn't be another one night stand.

Liara had been there for him to talk to since the whole mess began, years ago. She was much more shy then, almost always holed up in her little room behind the med bay. Back then, she'd also been much more forgiving - less likely to shoot, or kill. He could only blame her job for the change that seemed so sudden to him. They'd talked frequently during that two year lapse. Not constant, but enough to know the other was well. Kaidan could remember when he'd received a file while on duty that was meant for his eyes only. He'd wondered how Liara had gotten news, or even believed that Shepard had been resurrected. But he clung onto the file, hoping he'd see for himself. And after he'd seen for himself he'd called Liara, yelling and demanding to know why she'd bothered to send him something if it wasn't the same woman he'd called friend.

"She isn't the only one who has changed, Kaidan." he remembered her voice speaking softly as he paced in his room.

"I know that, Liara." Kaidan had hissed back.

"Give it some time. I suspect she's still trying to accept she came back as well." Liara had paused for several minutes, waiting for an answer but he never gave one. "Kaidan. If you died and came back to life, do you think you would be the same?"

She'd had a good point and he knew it. And later before he went to bed he began working on an apology that wouldn't be sent for another two weeks. But if he hadn't sent that message, Kaidan was sure he wouldn't be alive right now. Shepard might not have bothered to take him with her to Mars, she might have left him to die there if she did. Liara had only been looking out for him from the beginning.

While Kaidan laid there thinking about all of this, he remembered that he'd still have to come to terms with the fact he'd gone in a new direction concerning his relationship with Liara. This wasn't exactly something that a step back would fix, where he was concerned. He looked back over to the window, but noticed the chair that had been bolted to the floor was on its side. How had that happened? Before he could remember, Liara was moving again, awake this time. She didn't seem startled at all when her eyes met his. Liara smiled, actually. Neither knew what to say.

"Did you sleep well?" he decided to ask. It was a safe question. She nodded. And she was still laying on him.

"Much better than I have for the past few weeks." he had to pinch the bridge of his nose, feeling the migraine start to form above his eyes. "Do you want some water?" she asked him. He nodded and felt his arm slide off her as she pulled on what clothes she could find, walking out of the room for a few minutes. While he could, Kaidan sat up, glad that he was at least cover from the waist down with the blanket. He put his hands to his face, wondering if he'd made the right choice by staying. He felt even more awkward when Liara came back and handed him the glass of water. She sat down next to him and waited for him to finish it before reaching over to touch his arm. He was used to the small shock when he would touch other biotics, and her touch was only different in that she sent a small wave through him unintentionally.

"Thanks." he finally muttered. The water wouldn't be of much help but it had at least delayed the pain that would be coming.

"You can stay here, if you want."

"Are you sure about that?" Kaidan didn't want to be a burden on her. He saw her smile and she pressed her hand on his shoulder, forcing him to lay back down. Without thinking he shut his eyes, and he could feel the cold as Liara lifted her hand from his shoulder. He was biting his tongue, literally, and he decided to ask another question from her. "Did I... Break that chair from the floor?" he felt like he had. Liara chuckled quietly.

"I think so. I remember you carried me back here once the party was over and we were talking for a while." Kaidan could hear the smile in her voice, and he did his best not to jump when he felt her fingers start tracing patterns over his left arm. "I think you were trying to tell me you could break it off."

"I guess I won the bet, huh?" he smiled as he listened to her laugh.

"You did. And I guess that's good because I never liked where that chair was."

"Wait, you said we left when the party was over..." he started, opening his eyes. "I remember leaving and there were still plenty of people."

"The hostess wasn't available," Liara smirked, looking over, flicking her eyes to the window and back to him, "and I guess that gave someone some ideas." Now Kaidan fought to hide a blush as he nodded with a smile. He was drunk last night, of course he'd have ideas. The only problem was that now he had no idea what to say to her. She didn't appear to be mad about it, but he could tell she wasn't entirely happy about it, either. He cleared his throat.

"You seem to remember a lot more than I do," he started, looking into her eyes, "what exactly did I miss?"

"Not much." she shrugged and then looked down. "Maybe it's for the best."

"Why would it be for the best?"

"You said some things."

"Like what?"

"I don't want to make you feel bad about it."

"Liara-"

"Trust me. You don't want to know." she glared, turning on him suddenly. Now he knew why anyone who crossed her and lived never crossed her again. It was scary to see such a beautiful face so twisted in anger.

"Liara, if you tell me then I might be able to explain myself." he challenged. Kaidan had to try to explain, even if he couldn't remember the words he said. She held her stare for some time before breaking it, sighing heavily as she clenched her jaw, pursing her lips a bit. Obviously, she'd picked that up from Shepard. "Liara please." he said softly, propping himself up on his elbow and reaching over with his right hand to place it on... well it landed on her knee. Not the best thinking on his part.

"You said I was the next best thing to Shepard, Kaidan." she spoke softly. "While that is a compliment, to be compared to her, it also hurt."

Kaidan had thought about that phrase before, swearing he'd never say it aloud because he knew the context would be all wrong. And of course right now the context was wrong. Liara was beyond upset and she turned to face away from him, sitting at the edge of the bed - her bed. Why hadn't she kicked him out if she didn't like what he'd said? He respected her enough that, even while drunk, he'd listen to her. And he had a feeling he knew when he'd said it, too. He'd make himself work while dealing with the migraine, because he'd never wanted to hurt Liara like this.

"Do you want me to explain that, or should I just leave?" he kept his voice quiet, sitting up again.

"If you can convince me that you didn't actually mean what you said-"

"I meant it, but the context... Wasn't there." he bit his tongue again, waiting for her reaction. Her head snapped around to glare at him again, and he began speaking quickly. "Liara, I was trying to say that... If Shepard weren't here, you'd be the next best person to handle this situation we're in." he was clearly referring to the war. "I'm sorry I didn't give you that context. I swore I'd never hear myself say those words to you because I knew this would happen. I really like you and you don't deserve to hear that sort of thing." his tongue slipped and now it was time for him to leave. He was getting in way over his head. She sat there and stared at the floor while he pulled his clothes back on. Though, she stood up and grabbed his arm before he could manage to get half way to the door.

"I can forgive you." she held his arm tightly, pulling and turning so he would face her, letting go of his arm. He brought his hand to rub gently at his arm, feeling a small bruise start to form. Liara hadn't softened her face, until he looked her in the eye. Before he could reach her hand she turned herself away just a bit. "I said I could forgive, not that I would." Kaidan smiled, just a little bit, folding his arms across his chest.

"Is there anything I can do to... Convince you that forgiving me is the right thing to do?" he knew it was a bad thing to play this game with her over something so serious, and in the view of anyone else, unimportant. But of course he was willing to risk it. Liara turned around, letting her arms fall at her sides as she thought, looking over him again. She smiled after a few minutes, walking back over and placing herself in front of him again.

"Promise it won't happen again..."

"If it does happen again-" he didn't expect her to pull him into a kiss, though she didn't seem like she was really all that concerned anymore when he felt her hand at the back of his head. It was really too bad she'd let him get dressed again - his uniform was much more complex than what she was wearing. Honestly, he was still surprised he'd managed to get it off on his own when he'd been drunk. Why did it need so many buckles, and straps? Liara didn't seem to have much trouble with it, though, and she'd pulled off his shirt without any trouble.

He held her face as he pressed his forehead to hers, eyes closed. Kaidan felt her hands run over his, gently and slowly pulling his hands from her face. He opened his eyes when she did pull his hands down to rest between them, and he was more than pleased to see she was smiling again. He was about to speak again, and she brought a finger to his lips before they even parted, then pressing her hand to his chest. He took a step back before he lost his balance, and she followed him with another step, both grinning. So he sat down, and was finally able to hold Liara in his lap, able to actually feel the warmth of her skin under his hands. At least he would remember what he said this time.

-_A Little Later-_

"Are you sure you don't want her to come in an talk to you?" Liara had to ask him just one last time. He was laying on his stomach, a pillow on top of his head in the dark half of the room. He lifted it to look at her.

"I'm sure about that. But I guess if she comes in, what am I gonna do?" he was useless and helpless right now with his migraine. Though he was lucky that Liara seemed to get them once in a great while, and she knew what it was like. Her hand placed itself on his cheek and then reached up to pull the pillow back down so he could sleep it off. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, but he could make out voices on the other side of the room, what he thought was just a few minutes later. But he woke up again when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and the pillow was lifted again. Shepard was smiling at him.

"Are you doing okay?" she made sure to whisper to him. He nodded and closed his eyes again. "Good. I got worried when Liara told me you had a migraine and you weren't in the med bay or already in my bed asleep," did he go to her bed that often? "and then she told me you were in here. I guess it's closer, hm?"

"Much closer." he mumbled. Shepard hummed and then gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before she departed, letting him rest. Once Shepard left, Liara came back over and sat on his other side, not bothering him at all.

He lifted his head some time later, glad it wasn't in terrible pain anymore. Kaidan felt Liara's hand gently rest on his arm, and he turned to look at her, smiling. He probably should have been more worried about being somewhere that he could be of use. But, if Shepard knew where he was, then how big of a problem was it that he spent a little longer in Liara's room? She didn't seem ready to let him leave, if he was judging her grip around his middle correctly. He turned and faced her, encouraging her to rest her head against his chest. It was his turn to watch over her while she slept.


End file.
